Automatic piano.



L. GRISERI.

AUTOMATIC PIANO.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 9, 1906.

Patented Api. 20, 1909.

' di%wwys UNITED STATES PATENT QFFTCE.

LORENZO GRISERI, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

AUTOMATIC PIANO.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LORENZO Gnrsinn, a subject of the King of Italy, residing at New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Automatic Pianos, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the class of auto matic pianos having means for rapidly vibrating the hammers, to produce an ei'fect similar to that of the mandolin.

Its object is the provision of an efficient action of this character which is inexpen sive in construction.

In the accompanying drawing: Figures 1 and 2 are fragmentary cross sections of a mechanical iano embodying the invention, showing different positions of the hammer and cooperating parts. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of the instrument showing the means of driving the hammer vibrating cylinder.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

A indicates a pin barrel arranged horizontally in the case B, and 0 indicates one of the keys which cooperates therewith. In the construction shown, these keys are arranged on the rear side of the pin barrel and pivoted between their ends to the customary bar D which extends lengthwise of the barrel. Each key is provided with a spring 6 which tends to swing its lower arm toward the barrel and which is compressed when the key is tripped by a pin of the barrel.

f indicates one of the hammers of the mandolin action arranged above the keys C and carried by an upright lever F pivoted near its lower end upon a longitudinal rod 9. This rod is mounted in a supporting bar I-I extending lengthwise of the pin barrel and is preferably of sufficient length to form a common pivot for all of the hammerlevers.

I is an actuating or vibrating device for swinging the several hammer levers in one direction, preferably away from the strings.

The device shown in the drawings consists of a rotary horizontal drum or cylinder arranged below said levers and having annular rows of trip-pins or projections i, one row for each lever. These pins are adapted to trip over a wear plate or tongue j secured to the lower end of the hammer-lever on the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 9, 1906.

Patented April 20, 1909.

Serial No. 310,774.

front side of its pivot. The hammer-lever is swung against the corresponding string by a spring 70 attached at its front end to the lower end of the lever in front of its pivot and at its rear end to a vertically swinging controlling lever L fulcrunied between its ends, preferably on the same pivotrod 9 as the hammer-levers. The lever L has a longitudinal slot Z in which the lower end of the hammer-lever plays, and the front end of this slot is so arranged that when the forward arm of said lever is raised, the front end of the slot bears against the adjacent edge of the hammer-lever and causes it to swing upward with the controlling lever, thereby withdrawing the tongue of the hammer-lever from the pat-h of the pins 2'. The cont-rolling lever is normally held in the last-named position by a spring m secured at its lower end to the supporting bar H and at its upper end to an arm or extension 01 depending from the rear end of the controlling-lever. The spring on is preferably arranged in an oblique opening m of the bar H to enable the spring to be made comparatively long.

The lower end of the extension n is arranged against or adjacent to the front side of the corresponding key C, so that when the latter is swung forwardly by a pin of the rotary barrel A it moves the extension in the same direction, thereby depressing the front arm of the controlling lever and bringing the tongue of the hammer-lever into the path of the pins of the cylinder I. As long as the parts occupy this position, which is shown in Fig. 2, the hammer is rapidly vibrated by the alternate action of the pins 2' and the spring 70, in an obvious manner, causing the hammer to strike the string numerous times for every note and producing a mandolin effect. As soon as the tripped key clears the pin of the rotary barrel, its spring swings it away from the extension 11, allowing the spring m to elevate the controlling lever and lifting the hammer-lever out of the engagement with the actuating cylinder I, as shown in Fig. 1. 5,

As shown in the drawings, the extension 71 is preferably provided with a horizontal adjusting screw 71 having a head or button against which the key C bears.

The hammer-actuating cylinder I may be driven by any suitable means. In the construction illustrated in the drawings, the cylinder-shaft is driven from a shaft 0 arranged at right angles thereto, by a belt 0 running around pulleys 0 0, the shaft 0 also driving the pin barrel A through the usual worm gearing p 79 I claim as my invention:

1.- In a musical instrument of the character described, the combination of a vibrating device, a hammer-lever arranged above said device and adapted to be moved in one direction by the same, a spring for moving the hammer-lever in the opposite direction, a verticallyswinging controlling lever arranged adjacent to the hammer-lever and provided on the front side of its pivot with a downward extension and on the rear side thereof with a portion at'iapted to bear against the rear side of the hammer-lever, a spring for normally raising the rear arm of the controlling lever, and means acting on said extension for depressing the rear end of the con-trolling lever, substantially as set forth.

2. In a musical.- instrument of the character described, thecombination of a vibrating device, a hammer-lever arranged above said device and adapted to be moved in one direction by the same, a spring for moving the hammer-lever in the opposite direction, a vertically swinging controlling lever arranged adj acent to: the hammer-lever and provided on the front side of its pivot with a downward extension and on the rear side 1 thereof with a portion adapted to bear against the rear side of the hammer-lever, a spring for normally raising the rear arm of the controlling lever, a pin barrel, and a key actuated by the pin barrel and acting upon said extension to depress the rear arm of the controlling lever, substantially as set forth.

3 In a musical instrument of the character described, the combination of a support, a vertically-swinging, bent cont-rolling lever pivoted thereto and having a longitudinal slot in its horizontal portion, a hammerlever having its lower end pivoted in said slot, the rear end of the slot being arranged to bear against the hannner-lever in the elevated position of the slotted end of the controlling lever, a spring connecting the hammerlever with the controlling lever and tending to swing the hammer-lever rearwardly, a vibratingv device having projec tions adapted to swing the hammer-lever forwardly, a spring for normally elevating the slotted end of the controlling lever, and means ior depressing said end of the controlling lever, substantially as set forth.

Yi'itness my hand this 19 day of March, 1906.

LOB ENZO Glti 5 RBI.

Witnesses P. Brown, J. L. Kxmrax. 

